What Documents Do You Need to Open an Estate Account After a Death in Ohio?
A certified Ohio death certificate costs $21.50 under a single statewide fee Ohio law sets for every county health department that issues one.
That’s one of four documents a bank needs to open an estate account: The certified death certificate, the probate court’s Letters of Authority, an IRS employer identification number (EIN) for the estate, and a government-issued photo ID for whoever will run it.
None of them can be gathered in a single trip, and the Letters of Authority take a probate filing of their own.
Note: This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Probate procedures, IRS requirements, and bank policies are subject to change.
1. Certified Death Certificate
A certified death certificate is the first document Ohio expects.
Everything else in the estate waits on it.
You order one from the county health department where the death occurred, or through the state’s online portal, at the $21.50 flat fee Ohio Revised Code 3705.24 sets.
One copy rarely covers it.
The probate court keeps a copy, and the bank wants another.
Ordering several certified copies at once, instead of one at a time, saves a second trip to the health department later.
2. Letters of Authority From Probate Court
Letters of Authority is the actual document a bank wants to see, the document proving someone has the legal right to act for the estate.
Ohio’s probate court issues it once the executor or administrator applies with Form 4.0, the Application for Authority to Administer Estate.
Nothing opens without it.
Some states hand an executor a separate document called Letters Testamentary and give an administrator a different one called Letters of Administration.
Ohio uses one name instead, Letters of Authority, for both roles.
The court issues it as Form 4.5, the Entry Appointing Fiduciary, and the executor carries a certified copy straight to the bank.
A will changes which application Ohio’s probate court wants before it issues Letters of Authority.
With a will, the executor files an Application to Probate Will, plus the death certificate, and the court admits the will before naming the executor.
No will, no executor.
Without a will, the court appoints an administrator instead, usually the closest next of kin who’s willing to serve, and the process moves straight to the application for authority.
Cuyahoga County’s probate court also asks the executor to mail the original will in within about two weeks of filing, not just a copy of it.
3. EIN for the Estate
An EIN, or employer identification number, is the tax ID the estate needs before a bank will even open the account.
KeyBank, headquartered in Cleveland, says an estate account can only open once the estate has an EIN issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
That EIN is separate from the Social Security number of the person who died.
It dies with the person.
The executor applies for the EIN online through Form SS-4, the IRS’s EIN application, using the estate’s name and the Social Security number of the person who died.
The executor lists their information as the responsible party.
Approval is immediate online, so the executor can print the confirmation letter the same day and take it straight to the bank.
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Quiz
Wills & Estates IQ
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4. Your ID as Executor or Administrator
A photo ID is the last document the bank checks, matching the living person in front of them to the name written on the Letters of Authority.
Ohio banks ask for it during the same visit that brings in the death certificate and the EIN confirmation.
A driver's license usually works.
A passport or a state ID card works just as well if the license has expired or never existed.
The name on that ID has to match the name on the court paperwork exactly.
A maiden name or a nickname on one and a legal name on the other can stall the account right at the counter.
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Money & Tax ID Quiz
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When Ohio Lets You Skip the Letters of Authority
Ohio skips the Letters of Authority step for the smallest estates, replacing it with a different court order.
An estate worth $5,000 or less, or no more than the funeral and burial bill, can qualify for summary release from administration.
The court then hands over the property with a single order.
The court names no one.
A larger estate, up to $35,000, or up to $100,000 when a surviving spouse inherits everything, can qualify for relief from administration instead.
That's still not the same document as Letters of Authority.
Banks vary on which order they'll accept in its place, so the executor should ask before assuming either one works at the counter.
What Counts Toward Ohio's Small-Estate Dollar Limits
Ohio's $35,000 and $100,000 limits only count probate assets, property that was in the name of the person who died alone, with no beneficiary and no co-owner.
A jointly owned bank account, a payable-on-death account, or a life insurance policy with a named beneficiary passes to that person directly.
None of it counts toward the limit.
So an estate can look far bigger on paper than the number that decides which path it qualifies for.
What an Ohio Bank Checks at the Counter
An Ohio bank checks a document list against the estate's paperwork, separate from what the probate court already reviewed.
Many banks want the executor to open the account in person, not online, since a teller has to verify the ID against the Letters of Authority face to face.
The bank titles the account something like Estate of [Name], with [Executor] listed as Executor, never just the name of the person who died, alone.
That's on purpose.
The estate account stays separate from any account the person held before death.
Those earlier accounts usually freeze once the bank learns of the death, and closing or transferring them follows a separate process.
The paperwork chain rarely stops at the bank, either.
An Ohio executor juggling the estate account often has a car title to transfer around the same time, on top of the deadline for settling the estate.
Psst! How much do you know about Ohio's courts and legal history? Take our quiz and see how many you can get right.
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The 1787 Northwest Ordinance, the law that governed the territory that became Ohio, included a rule about something modern estate law still handles today. What was it?
FAQ
Quick answers to what families ask most about opening an Ohio estate account.
What documents do I need to open an estate account in Ohio?
You need a certified death certificate, the probate court's Letters of Authority naming you executor or administrator, an EIN for the estate from the IRS, and a photo ID.
Do I need to go through probate before I can open an estate account in Ohio?
Many estates do, since banks want Letters of Authority from probate court before they'll open the account. An estate worth $35,000 or less, or up to $100,000 when a surviving spouse inherits everything, can often skip straight to a relief-from-administration order instead.
Can I open an Ohio estate account without an EIN?
No. Many banks, including KeyBank, require the estate to have an IRS-issued EIN before they'll open the account.
The IRS treats the estate as a taxpayer separate from the person who died.
Does Ohio require a will to open an estate account?
No. An estate account works whether or not the person who died left a will, though having one changes which probate application the court wants before it issues Letters of Authority.
What is Ohio's small-estate limit for skipping a full probate administration?
Ohio allows a summary release from administration for estates worth $5,000 or less, or the cost of the funeral. A relief from administration covers estates up to $35,000, or $100,000 when a surviving spouse inherits the entire estate.
A will can head off one more cost before any of this starts, since many Ohio wills waive the bond the court would otherwise require from an executor.
Without a will, that bond is still standard, sized at roughly double the value of what the administrator controls, though the court can reduce it for a small estate.
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